Frequently Asked Questions

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This is a question that is legitimate, important and very  hard to  answer.  For some people,  emotional distress is so intense that it  interferes with life functioning.  School, work, relationships, or  physical  health are suffering as a result of a behavioral/emotional difficulty.  In these situations, it is important that  individuals  receive appropriate psychological care.
 

There are also people for whom therapy provides an avenue  for  growth, even if current circumstances are not dire.  Therapy can  improve individual success,  personal comfort and interpersonal  relationships, even for people who do not  suffer from a mental

“disorder”.

How therapy can benefit you, and how important therapy may  be  to your overall well-being, is an important question that will be  addressed  very early in the therapeutic process.  If you do not feel  that this question has been answered for you, it is  important that you ask it directly to your therapist. 

The length of time in treatment is widely variable.  Our  therapeutic approach is directive and  interactive, and we hope that  this helps clients experience meaningful change  quickly.  For those  people who have  experienced long-term difficulties, however, therapy is  likely to be more  long-term. 
 

Although the length of treatment varies, most of our patients complete treatment within 10 - 15 sessions.

When looking for a therapist, it is wise to find out if  the professional has seen other clients with similar presenting  problems.  Ask about success rates, typical length of treatment for your  particular concern, and types of experience he/she has. 

It is also important, however, that  you feel comfortable with your therapist as a person. One of the best  predictors of success in treatment is the degree to which the client  likes the therapist and feels a good rapport with him/her. 

Experience, education, and credentials are important; however, personal comfort should not be underestimated.

This is a good question for the therapist when you are first speaking on  the phone. In general, we like to meet with parents alone first if the  child is quite young. This way, parents can make sure they are  comfortable with the direction of the therapist before introducing the  child.
 

In contrast, it is usually wise to include an adolescent for the first  meeting, as it is important that they feel part of the process from the  outset.
 

For those children "in between" younger childhood and adolescence, the decision is more variable.
 

Please feel free to discuss your viewpoint on this matter. 

We do not prescribe medication, but we work closely with psychiatrists, internists,  neurologists, pediatricians and other medical professionals who may provide consultation regarding medication. The importance of medication as part of the treatment plan depends upon diagnosis and other contributing factors. With our patients, we strive to provide guidance as you make the very personal decision about whether to pursue medication as part of the treatment plan.

Be prepared for your call to insurance. You may be asked to provide the following information:

1)  Our qualifications:  We are "licensed clinical psychologists."

2)  CPT (Procedure code):  Most common CPT codes are 90791 (Diagnostic Interview) and 90837 (60 minute individual session)

3)  Diagnosis:  You may know this before your first appointment, or you may not. Please discuss with your therapist if this is something your insurance is asking about.

4)  In-network vs. Out-of-network:  We are in-network for BCBSIL PPO and Medicare ONLY. For all other insurance policies, make sure you are asking about out-of-network coverage.

5)  Helpful information about your policy: Please ask about your annual deductible (and whether it has been met), co-pay or co-insurance, and out-of pocket maximum.

In addition, please ask if their are any restrictions to coverage (limited number of sessions, required authorizations, etc.)

Yes!  For younger children, we usually choose to see parents first so that we can get a thorough history and description of the current concerns. We will do our best to share with parents in the first appointment some preliminary information about the kind of work we might recommend. We do this because we believe it is important that parents feel comfortable with the style and methods of the therapist, before introducing the child.

With older children (adolescents), it is often important for the child to take part in the first sessions so that they feel part of the process from the beginning. If we see kids in the first session, we will more often than not plan on having meetings with the parent(s) alone later so that they can share any and all concerns.

As therapy progresses, we will welcome parent meetings so that you are kept informed about the nature of the treatment and you can provide us with any important updates. We do not generally meet with parents each session.  If at any time, you feel that it has been too long since you received feedback, please do not hesitate to contact your therapist! We do not want any parent to feel disconnected from the process.

We required 48 hours (TWO DAYS) to cancel an appointment. If we are not given the 48 hours, you will be charged a missed appointment fee and insurance will almost certainly NOT cover it.  We make exceptions for illness.  We do not, however, typically make exceptions for work demands, last minute activities, etc.

When we first meet a new client, we tend to suggest weekly meetings so that we can get to know you as quickly as possible. As therapy is established, we may suggest meeting less frequently. In rare situations, we see people more than one time each week.

Please speak with your therapist about his/her recommendations about frequency of appointments.

Legally, minors have limited rights to confidentiality in therapy.  We strive to balance the privacy needs of children with their parents' responsibility for involvement in their children's care. We do not promise secrecy to children.  However, we do encourage parents to allow some privacy and to minimize the questioning of children after each session.

Yes. In fact, we have found the virtual meetings to work quite well in this format.